Pussy Riot members whipped and pepper sprayed by Cossack militia in Sochi

20/02/2014

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The controversial Russian protest Group Pussy Riot were attacked with whips and pepper spray by Cossack militia on Wednesday.

The group had gathered in a downtown Sochi restaurant, about 30 kilometers from where the 2014 Winter Olympics are being held and were planning to perform a protest song entitled "Putin Will Teach You to Love the Motherland" and to film a music video.

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alehina, who were released last December after spending nearly two years in prison after being convicted of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred," over protest performance they had staged in a Moscow cathedral, were among the members that were attacked.

The two women had already been detained by Russian police for 10 hours Monday on suspicion of stealing from a Shochi hotel, but they were later released.

In this latest incident involving the group - five women and one man - were attacked by the militia group as they were performing , wearing their trademark colored balaclavas, under a banner advertising the Sochi Olympics.

One of the Cossack’s used a horse whip on the women - a photographer also got a taste of the whip - while others were peppered sprayed as they had their ski masks ripped off and were manhandled, punched and thrown to the ground.

Alyokhina later tweeted photographs of blood dripping down the face of one of the members, while another photo showed red marks across Tolokonnikova’s chest.

Police arrived later and questioned witnesses, but no one was arrested, while the authorities promised to investigate the incident.